   2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser Trail Teams Edition. Click image to enlarge |
Review and Photos by Jacob Black
Like pretty much every single child in the western world, I had a Tonka truck I used to play around with. It was big, tough and could go anywhere my thick, chubby hands could push it. Little wonder I had sandbox flashbacks every time I got into Toyota’s FJ Cruiser.
The 2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser Trail Teams Edition is the spiritual descendant of the types of tough-as-guts Land Cruisers I was used to in Australia. Things like those and the “unbreakable” Toyota Hilux are probably the reason I associate Toyota’s with off-road prowess and rugged capability while my Canadian born-and-raised wife couldn’t understand that association.
Truth is, everywhere else in the world it’s Toyota that has been the modern equivalent of the ultimate bush-bashing rig. Poachers in Africa (and the people who chase them), run Land Cruisers. Cops in the outback of Australia? Well, Commodores mostly. But in the real outback – Land Cruisers. When the ASO wants to plot the next Dakar Rally course guess what they use? Battered old Land Cruisers.
So the FJ Cruiser is the next iteration of that particular feather in Toyota’s cap. It has all the right stuff, bar work, skid plates, big-arse wheels, and a proper two-speed transfer case. This is the modern age though, so there are also electronic aids like a rear-differential lock, automatic disconnecting rear diff, and Active Traction Control. Missing is hill-descent control, though the three-speed crawl control function fulfils that role if you need it.
You also get a 4.0L V6 engine that’s good for 260 hp at 5,500 rpm and 271 lb-ft of torque at 4,400 rpm. It’s a lumpy, agricultural-sounding engine that adds to the brutish FJ charm, but in regular driving conditions on highways and around the suburbs it needs too much throttle to get where you want to go.
Part of that is down to the short gearing and close ratios of the five-speed automatic gearbox this tester was fitted with; the six-speed manual might be better.
The result is a lot of engine noise and a sense of frustration for your writer. How am I supposed to ram people off the road if I can’t catch them?!
Knowing that peak torque is delivered up high in the shortish rev-range (the red line is set at 5,500 rpm) made me wonder how one is supposed to navigate dunes and the like with this car. I’d always been taught that unless you’re prepared to mash the throttle and keep it there, one should use finesse when driving off-road. It turns out a decent amount of the available torque is there from early on, and I never had a problem generating forward momentum – even in the slipperiest of conditions.
  2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser Trail Teams Edition engine bay & dashboard. Click image to enlarge |
Not wanting to overstep my skill level I was perhaps timid with the systems, but managed to navigate some large piles of mulch and desiccated green waste using the standard AWD systems. I used crawl control to navigate up and down one pile successfully – but to be honest the FJ is capable enough for even a novice to do most off-road driving themselves and not rely on those functions.
I apologize for not getting out and taking a photo – I was petrified of being stuck. Last time I got stuck off road bad things happened.
So the truth is the FJ Cruiser is more than capable of satisfying the wants and needs of most off-roaders. My cousin in Australia had one which he treated disgracefully, and Jeff Wilson seemed impressed by his ability to coat one in mud during a Toyota FJ Cruiser vs Jeep Wrangler comparison test. The FJ looks the off-road part too, especially with its Trail Teams badges, industrial-inspired dashboard latticing and Amsterdam-inspired gear levers.
   2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser Trail Teams Edition dashboard panel, wheel, and some light off-roading. Click image to enlarge |
The wheels look the part too but that’s an important note, the look the part. I thought the FJ had beadlock rims standard – which would have been excellent for dune running – but these are “beadlock style”. What does “beadlock style” mean you ask? Well, it means a similar thing to “chicken-flavoured” or “cubic zirconia”. Regardless, the FJ Cruiser packs enough impression of toughness to keep those Tonka truck flashbacks coming.
This edition also had a rugged interior that was pressure-wash compatible – had I got it too dirty inside I could have just opened all the doors, turned the squirter on it and Bob’s your uncle.
   2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser Trail Teams Edition cargo area, rear door, seating. Click image to enlarge |
It is missing some rudimentary comfort items though – like backlighting for any of the buttons to the left of the steering wheel. Trying to adjust one’s side mirrors at night involves plenty of blind fumbling in the dark – which triggered another, more awkward, flashback from my youth.
And I didn’t rely on the fuel readout provided by the car’s trip computer for this review – because there wasn’t one.
    2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser Trail Teams Edition gauges, centre stack. Click image to enlarge |
Still my manual calculation landed me at a mildly disappointing 14.8 L/100 km. The EPA says it’s good for 13.8/11.8/13.1 L/100 km in automatic trim.
Want to hear read the most bizarre fuel economy stat you’ll read this month? In manual trim it is worse. Way worse, at 15.7/13.1/14.7 L/100 km city/highway/combined.
Back to my calculation, that was recorded when I was doing a little bit of playing about in a sandpit/woodchip dump – I did see less than 12 while I was on a highway-only run.
The variable-gear ratio steering is over-boosted for my tastes, even off road, where the lightness of the steering didn’t inspire confidence. The feedback from the wheel wasn’t enough for your writer to really grasp what was happening under-tire. On the road it was light and comfortable but didn’t get too busy in cross-winds the way some trucks with light steering do. The double-wishbone suspension with stabilizer bar at the front keeps the FJ connected to the road and responsive to wheel input but coupled with the four-link suspension in the rear produces a large amount of body roll. The FJ never broke traction on the asphalt though, thanks in part to the lateral track bar and rear stabilizer bar. Pitch and dive is the same as body-roll – disconcerting, but that’s a function of long-travel off-road suspension.
The brakes were softer than I like but did offer good feedback and stopping power.
Ergonomically the cabin is well-set out and useable. There is even a handy storage bin just ahead of the steering wheel in the dashboard. I found the Bluetooth easy to use – though I detest having to set up a telephone with voice commands – and the six-speaker audio system was excellent. The FJ is well set-up for camping and tailgating too with an 115v power outlet in the rear cargo area. Want to tow a trailer out to the campsite? You can lug up to 2,268 kg (5,000 lb) with the FJ.
At 2,000 mm tall with the roof-rack, and 2,014 with spot lights, the FJ won’t fit into every parking garage, so be mindful where you’re going to park it but at 4,670 mm long and 1,905 mm wide the FJ is not as enormous as it first looks. The wheelbase is 2,690 mm and track is 1,605 mm at both ends. The resulting short overhangs are important for approach and departure angles, which at 34 and 31 degrees respectively are more than adequate. Sadly Toyota doesn’t provide a break-over angle figure, but with 245 mm of ground clearance you could describe it accurately as “sufficient”.
The FJ Cruiser has been around for a few years now without a major upgrade. And sadly, it won’t be around much longer. Slow sales mean the FJ Cruiser will be discontinued after 2014. Styling wise, it’s what it’s always been. Powertrain wise, it hasn’t been updated since 2012. Still, the FJ Cruiser fills a niche perfectly. It’s a tough, capable rig that has the visual presence to intimidate, and the backbone to deliver on its promises.
As a daily commuter it is impractical, and excessive – but my goodness is it fun. I mean, who didn’t want a real-life Tonka truck growing up? Thank you Toyota, for giving us that chance.
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Pricing: 2014 Toyota FJ Cruiser 5A Trail Teams Special Edition
Base Price: $33,540
Options: Automatic transmission – $1,000, Trail Teams Special Edition (Front and rear Bilstein shock absorbers, LT265/75R16 BGGoodrich All-Terrain T/A tire, Foldable armrest, rear privacy glass, cruise control, keyless entry, multi-information display – floating ball type with compass, outside temperature, and inclinometer, 16-inch black beadlock style alloy wheels, front skid plate, roof rack, Offroad Roof Lights with Air Dam, offroad rock rails, matte mirrors, Train Teams badges, power-adjustable mirrors, colour-tuned interior trim, polished black shift levers, cargo are mat, cargo net, exterior mirror image lamps – $8,625
A/C Tax: $100
Freight and PDI: $1,690
Price as tested: $44,955
Competitors:
Jeep Wrangler
Crash Test Results:
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA)
Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS)
